The semiconductor industry has progressed into nanometer technology process nodes in pursuit of higher device density, higher performance, and lower cost. Beyond merely shrinking devices, circuit designers are looking to novel structures to deliver even greater performance. One avenue of inquiry is the development of three-dimensional designs, such as a fin-like field effect transistor (FinFET). A FinFET may be envisioned as a typical planar device extruded out of a substrate and into the gate. An exemplary FinFET is fabricated with a thin “fin” (or fin structure) extending up from a substrate. The channel region of the FET is formed in this vertical fin, and a gate is provided over (e.g., wrapping around) the channel region of the fin. Wrapping the gate around the fin increases the contact area between the channel region and the gate and allows the gate to control the channel from multiple sides. This can be leveraged in a number of way, and in some applications, FinFETs provide reduced short channel effects, reduced leakage, and higher current flow. In other words, they may be faster, smaller, and more efficient than planar devices.
To electrically coupled the FinFETs and other devices, an integrated circuit may include an interconnect structure with one or more layers of conductive lines electrically coupled to the devices. The overall circuit size and performance may depend on the number and size of the conductive lines as well as the circuit devices.